Biography

Austrian news figure, the half-niece of Adolf Hitler and his mistress before Eva Braun. Hitler was first captivated by Geli (short for Angela) in 1925, when she was 17 and he, 36. He persuaded his half-sister, her mother, to serve as his live-in housekeeper along with the girl, first at his mountain retreat at Berchtesgaden. Before long "Uncle Alf" had ensconced the girl into an apartment building next to his in Munich and was escorting her to cafes and cinemas. He hovered at her side, the picture of an infatuated adolescent. In 1929, he moved her into his Berlin apartment. Historians have debated the nature of their relationship ever since but it seemed evident that Geli was increasingly confined and resistant to her position.

Geli was found dead in her bed on 9/19/1931 with a bullet through her chest and Hitler's gun by her side. "A mysterious darkness surround the death of this unusual beauty," the newspapers wrote. Whether the death was a murder or suicide has never been resolved. There was a hasty attempt to cover up the death with the announcement of suicide "that she was nervous about an upcoming recital." The Munchner Post wrote that "Herr Hitler and his niece had yet another fierce quarrel." The report continued that the 23-year old girl wanted to go to Vienna, where she intended to become engaged.